Phew! Does anyone else feel like they need a vacation after the holidays? Let me tell you though, this was one of the BEST holiday seasons ever! It seemed as though everything ran so smoothly allowing everyone to focus on what’s really important this time of the year: spending time with the ones you hold closest to your hearts.

Recently my doctor suggested I try gluten free to see if it helps with some dietary problems I’ve been having, but during the holidays it’s so hard to keep my hands out of that darn cookie jar. I found what seemed like an easy enough recipe to switch out regular all purpose flour for gluten free all purpose flour, Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking flour, which is also awesome because that’s a local company in Milwaukie, Oregon.

When I was looking for a recipe to try I knew it had to travel easy while still tasting as fresh as they were right out of the oven. I feel like from Thanksgiving until New Years the only speed is “GO”. It was important that what I was making could travel easily. The awesome thing about these Cranberry Almond Breakfast Bars is that they do all that PLUS are still moist and fluffy even with the slight modifications I made to the original recipe.

**Beginner Baker Experience: This recipe calls for an ingredient that I had never heard of before and couldn’t find the exact brand called for. McCormick Gourmet™ Valencia Orange Peel is the original ingredient, I used Spice Island Orange Peel and it seemed to work just fine. What I also learned about dried orange peel is that if it’s older than a year old you should toss it, a fresh jar would be ideal for the best flavor. Who knew?!**

Oh. My. How could I forget to tell you guys this?! Santa did an amazing job this year and brought me a stand mixer (it was actually Collin, he completely nailed it!). I broke that bad boy out and made these breakfast bars a second time for our New Years weekend get away. I hope everyone enjoys them as much as we did and we all open our minds a little more to gluten free!

INGREDIENTS:

1 stick – unsalted butter at room temp.

3/4 cup – granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp – Spice Island Orange Peel (preferably fresh)

1/2 tsp – Pure Almond Vanilla Extract

1/2 tsp – Pure Almond Extract

1/2 tsp – Kosher salt

1 1/2 cups – Bobs Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Powder

3/4 dried cranberries, I prefer mine not chopped but you can coarsely chop them if you prefer

1/4 cup – powdered sugar (topping)

BAKING INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

I had 2 round baking pans that I used for cinnamon rolls one Mother’s Day, no they were not home made, thank you Pillsbury! Anyway, I lined those with parchment paper and later found this was a really helpful step when removing the breakfast bar to cool.

I was so excited to use my new stand mixer!! We start by beating the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. **Mine did not do this, I think I need more practice with this fancy new machine** Next beat the egg, both almond and vanilla extract, salt and of course the orange peel. I wonder what fresh orange zest would taste like? Might have to make this one again. Seriously, it’s that good! This dough becomes really sticky so I had to use a rubber spatula to scoop the dough down the walls of the bowl and a spoon the scoop the mixer out. Then add the flour gradually  until incorporated. I mixed the cranberries in with the spatula to try and keep them fluffy, make sure to mix them evenly either by hand or in the stand mixer.

Once everything is mixed evenly spread the mixture on the baking pan WITH parchment paper. I swear it is so helpful!

The baking time varied both times I made this breakfast bar, I think it had something to do with how thick the dough is when you press it into the pan. The second time I made this I doubled the recipe so I had enough for the communal breakfast pre New Years Eve celebration, I think that’s why they took longer to bake. The first time I made these I baked them for 28-30 minutes at 350 degrees. The key to knowing when they are cooked thoroughly is two things: First, the edges are just starting to turn golden brown (all of the edges evenly). Second, and what I think is most important to note is if the whole bar has a matte look to it. If the center is still glossy looking it isn’t fully baked.

**One of the bars taught me this the hard way and crumbled when I tried to transfer it to the cooling rack. As you can see in the picture on the left, even though all the edges are evenly golden the center is still glossy and gooey looking. I put the them back in the oven to cook for an additional 6 minutes checking on them every 2 minutes until the middle was matte and fluffy. Learning moment for me!

I found the easiest way to transfer these to the cooling rack is to place the cooling rack on top of the pan, top to top, and flip the bar upside down. This is when I told you the parchment paper wold come in handy. The bar should gently fall out of the pan and onto the cooling rack. Go ahead and just let that bad boy cool upside down, there is a chance it could break apart if you try to move it to soon. Allow the bar to cool upside for at least 15 minutes before flipping it right side up onto a plate or cutting board.

I’m excited to take these with us on our 3.5 hour road trip to Eastern Oregon for the weekend but I’m going to wait to cut them until Saturday morning and just keep them in an air tight container to keep them fresh. As long as you keep them in a container they can keep for up to 5 days.

Before I cut them I use the powdered sugar and sprinkle it over the top of the bar for extra glamour and because why not, right!?

Of course I put that crumbled, under cooked bar back in the oven because looks aren’t everything and that bad boy was still top notch!

I wish everyone a happy and safe New Years weekend, may 2017 bring everyone the courage to try something new that you have always wanted to try!!

Enjoy!

Original recipe post: http://www.loveandoliveoil.com/2016/11/cranberry-almond-shortbread-bars.html